Pretend You Love Me

Chapter One

It was a normal day of school of the normal Amity Park city. Three not so normal teens were all seated down pretending to pay attention in the boring class that Mr. Lancer decided to give inside the chronogram of the English Class. That class was really rare and useful, the subject was "debating" and only a girl named Sam Manson was interested in it.

"For next week," Mr. Lancer said, writing on the board while talking. "We'll divide the class in two groups and each will use the right arguments and skills to defend the subject we'll establish."

"Excuse me, Mr. Lancer." Paulina raised her hand, blinking quickly with her long lashes that made all boys in the class sigh in contentment.

"Yes, Paulina?"

"Can we discuss something interesting at least, like popular students, fashion or something like that?" She asked, sweetly.

"I was going to suggest a discussion about the importance of school uniforms." Mr. Lancer said. "I think it fits the fashion thing you suggested." Paulina agreed, contently, saying that she would like to be on the group against uniforms and Sam immediately stretched her hand. "Yes, Miss Manson?"

Sam wrinkled her nose in discontentment when she realized nobody was pleased to see that she was interrupting the class. Her best friends, Danny and Tucker were the only ones that actually were interested in what she was going to say.

"I was wondering if we could discuss something more useful. It's not like the subject of School Uniforms really matter, it's just about avoiding the school to become a teen version of Fashion Week, but since our school won't take uniforms I think it's a pointless discussion."

"And what subject you suggest?" Mr. Lancer asked her, noticing the fury in Paulina's eyes that shot Sam a glance of pure hate.

"I suggest Political views, International Affairs or a simply discussion of Philosophy like Skepticism." She replied. "I think it's much more useful to develop a strong line of thoughts that could lead to useful conclusions."

"Ok, so let's be less vague, please." Mr. Lancer said. "What do you suggest we discuss into Skepticism?"

"There's lots of interesting subjects we can discuss;" Sam said wisely, realizing that her friends were looking at her proudly; "For example, does UFOs exist? Does psychology really work? Is there a God? Does love exist? Things like that."

"You know, I think that's interesting." Paulina's hate finally died down. "Can we discuss love, then?" She asked the teacher.

"Fine." Mr. Lancer agreed. "We need two groups. One that believe in love and other that doesn't, just remember that you will have to defend your argument and it doesn't have to be based on your opinions."

"Can I be the leader of the group that believes in love?" Paulina asked.

"Sure."

"And if you don't mind, I'd like to be the leader of the other group." Sam smiled, satisfied with herself.

"Ok, so, next week we'll debate." Mr. Lancer concluded just when the bell rang.

Everyone stood up and picked up their books. Sam closed her book bag while Danny and Tucker waited for her by the door.

"Are you sure you can handle the discussion, Sam?" Danny grinned, walking by her side on the corridor, going to their lockers.

"Of course, Paulina doesn't know how to use valid arguments, this discussion will be easy." She smiled.

"Just be careful to not damage her reputation, she already hates you just for being yourself, I wouldn't like to see you in a fight as much as I enjoy to see women fights." Tucker joked, opening his locker.

"Whatever." Sam smiled. "I'll meet you two in Gym Class." She said, walking off to the girl's locker room.

She opened the door and stepped inside already seeing Paulina smiling in her tight shorts and shirt, admiring herself in the mirror. Sam waved 'hi' to Valerie who smiled at her. Both girls weren't close friends because of the awkward situation with Danny, but they didn't hate each other.

Valerie left the room, followed by Paulina, Star and few other girls, leaving Sam completely alone.

Sam changed quickly, carefully locking her clothes so that nobody would do anything funny to them. She had been victim of pranks before, once someone hid her bra and she had to spend the rest of the school day hiding her chest with books.

She opened the door of the Locker Room and found the corridor outside completely empty. She frowned, suspiciously, but walked to Gym anyway. She saw Danny and Tucker were already there, on the other half of the gym and started walking towards them, only to be splashed by a huge water balloon that was thrown in her direction from the highest seats.

Paulina laughed, seeing the Goth girl wet from hair to toe giving her a nasty look. Paulina would have been murdered right there if Danny and Tucker hadn't run to Sam, holding her back and pulling her towards the Locker Room once again.

"Let me go! I will kill her!" Sam said, fighting their grip.

"You don't want to be suspended and miss the debate next week, Sam." Tucker said. "Lancer will fail you."

"Besides I won't let go back in there like this." Danny said. Sam looked at him in confusion and noticed that he was blushing a lot. She wondered why he was so red and looked down at herself… only to realize that her Gym shirt was white and it was plastered against her chest and that her chocolate bra was completely visible.

"I'm going to murder her slowly and painfully." She said, darkly. "I'll rip her limbs one by one…"

"Look at the bright side." Tucker tried to humor the situation up. "You gave us a personal wet T-shirt contest."

"You pervert!" She hit Tucker on the head making him hold his head in pain and in the process making Sam's mood much lighter.

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Sam convinced Danny to go ghost and take her home so that she could change. While flying he complained about not understanding why she had to go home when her spare clothes were completely dry and she answered sincerely, knowing it would make him blush terribly:

"My shirt is dry, but my bra and panties are soaked. I have to change or else I'll catch a cold."

Danny blushed and landed on her room, putting her on the ground and sitting down on her bed, waiting for her to get changed. Sam walked to her closet and grabbed a new pair, but when she was about to exit the room to go to the bathroom, she heard the voice of her parents outside the door.

"This is Samantha's room."

The door knob was turning open when Danny flew to Sam holding her close and turning her invisible. The last thing they wanted was for the Mansons to see their daughter home two hours earlier dripping wet with the boy they disliked.

"She likes black a little too much for our taste, but that's something you can change with time." Mrs. Manson said to the visitors.

The visitors were two men, one looked around his forties and the other was a young blond teen around his seventeen years old with piercing dark green eyes.

"She's a very conscious girl, always thinking about others." Mr. Manson said. "You'll like her a lot, Kyle." He patted the boy on the shoulder.

"She sounds like a very interesting person." The boy smiled and they exited the room, closing the door behind them.

Danny let go of Sam, making them both visible again. They stood there, puzzled.

"What was that about?" Danny asked, looking at her for answers, but Sam just shook her shoulders, as confused as he was.

"I have no idea. It was like they were selling me along with the house or something." She managed to joke. "Well, I'll find out sooner or later." She smiled. "I can't go out to change, so just turn around and don't peek."

"Yes, ma'am." Danny said, turning around. "Have you seen those guys before?" He asked, deciding that conversation would make the situation less awkward.

"No, I've never seen them." She answered. Danny heard the noise of her skirt being unzipped and gulped. "By what I've heard, they sounded very comfortable with each other; maybe they're some rich friends of my parents."

"Yeah, maybe. It's a good thing I moved fast and turned us invisible." Danny said, proudly.

"Yep. Thanks for that." She grinned. "And you can turn around now." He turned and saw that she was wearing a new shirt. "You know… since we're out of school, what about a walk in the park? I'm not in the mood to see Paulina again."

"Well, I'm always on the mood to see her." Danny smiled, knowing that he was annoying his best friend. "But I'm a good guy and I'll make my friend happy. Let's head to the park."

He grabbed her by the waist and flew out of the room.

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After a very exciting day in the park with her best friend, Sam opened the door of her house, walking inside. She grinned to herself remembering how she teased Danny until he bought her an ice cream, and then chased after him when he decided to tickle her in front of everybody. She ended throwing him in the lake and ran away before he could catch her.

When she stepped in the living room, she spotted her parents seating across the two men from earlier, chatting animatedly. As soon as they saw her, her parents pulled her into the conversation, introducing her to the guests.

The older one was called John Miles and his father had married Sam's grandma's sister and Kyle, the younger one, was Sam's cousin.

"Nice to meet you Samantha." Kyle said, kissing Sam's hand in a gentleman greet.

"Nice to meet you too and the kiss in the hand is something really old-fashioned." She grinned, taking her hand back.

"Sammy, manners, please." Her mother warned.

"Yes, mother." She rolled her eyes. "Excuse me, I must do my homework."

"I'm sure homework can wait." Mr. Manson said, making his daughter to sit down by Kyle' side. "We were just talking about Miles' fortunate life in California, they own a huge house, isn't that right, John?"

"Yes, we do." John said, smiling broadly at Sam. The whole situation looked surreal to her. What was she doing sitting there? "And we own an oil company that Kyle will inherit as soon as he turns eighteen."

"That's nice to see his future is already settled." Sam commented. "But I think it's much more rewarding when you fight for your dream, you know. Isn't it boring to have everything and you're so young? Where's the challenge?" She smiled.

"My dear, Samantha," Kyle interrupted her passionate speech. "The challenges in life come in many forms, not just in a high status quo."

"I completely agree." Sam said, "But I'm not criticizing you for being rich, it would be very hypocrite of me. I'm just saying that I wouldn't accept this offer if it was me. My life would be boring if I had everything and could do whatever I wanted."

"The challenge would be in raising a family, I guess." Mr. Miles laughed.

"Family?" Sam echoed, suspiciously. She had a feeling that maybe these guests had second intentions. "I would never raise a family." She pretended to laugh. "I want to live free without being attached to anyone. I don't think I can be attached, actually. I had this conversation with mom before," She looked at her mother who blushed furiously, already knowing where Sam was going to lead the conversation. "Marriage is for fools."

"And why would you think that?" Kyle asked, slightly disappointed.

"She likes to think she'll never find a suitable match for her." Mrs. Manson laughed. "But here you are." She said, making Sam looking at her and paled immediately. "Sammy, Kyle Miles is here to take you as his fiancée. When you turn eighteen and finish high school, you will get married, isn't it wonderful?"

Sam was taken by surprise, feeling like she had taken a full blow of ectoplasm in her chest. How could her parents arrange a marriage to her? Didn't they think of what she really wanted for her life? What would Danny say?

"No… actually, it's not wonderful." Sam replied, darkly, wiping the smiles from everybody's face. "I just said that I don't want to get married."

"Don't be a fool, dear; you can't be single forever, where's your pride as a woman?" Mrs. Manson replied.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, confused and furious.

"One day all of your friends will be married with children, living a decent life. Can't you see how important it is? It's the course of life. There's nothing more wonderful in a woman's life then gift their husband with a new life." Mrs. Manson said, her eyes shining with passion in what she believed in.

"Well… you know that's not my wish." Sam said simply. "I refuse your offer, Mr. Miles, I'm sorry." She stood up and was ready to leave the room when Kyle held her hand, making her turn around impatiently and wait for him to talk.

"I'm sorry our parents got us in this mess. Would you rather know me first?"

"You misunderstood me." Sam tried to back away, but he was insistent.

"I'm not standing here as your fiancée;" He explained. "I'm here as a boy who is very interested on you. You could agree on going in a date with me, away from our parents if it makes you feel better." He blinked at her.

"Well, I can't, I'm busy with school and the protests I participate. It would be great to have a friend, if you'd like to give me your email address I'd gladly chat with you online."

"Ok." He replied and gave her the email. "By the way, I'm staying for a while, I hope you don't mind."

"Well… thanks… you see… I'll have to go finish my homework." She said, turning around and running to her room.

She locked herself inside her room and suddenly felt suffocated, as if the walls were pressuring her. Her clock indicated that it was half past nine which meant that either Danny was home or arriving pretty soon. She opened her closet and grabbed a rope she made a few years ago to climb out of her room's window.

She tied its ends on her bed and started climbing down. She clumsily fell on the bushes when she was halfway down, cutting her arm. The wound was small and she wasn't feeling much pain, so she stood up and ran far away from her house as fast as she could.

Unconsciously, she walked to Danny's house. It was too late for a normal visit, so she walked around the side of the house where Danny hid a ladder in case she or Tucker needed to go to his room without been seeing.

She knocked on his window, but he didn't open it. She sighed and tried to open it from outside, surprisingly succeeding. She climbed into his room only to find Danny asleep on his bed, under the covers. His hair was damp and smelling like some male shampoo he used.

Smiling for a moment and forgetting why she was so upset, she kneeled down beside him, watching his sleeping face. The covers were bunched down on his waist while he was sprawled on his stomach, snoring loudly.

"Danny, wake up." She whispered in his ear, not wanting to scare him or be heard by his parents.

"Uhh." He groaned, turning his face to the other side.

Sam, annoyed, decided to poke him. "Wake up!" She repeated.

"Go away." He said in a muffed voice.

"Danny, please, I have to talk to you… and why are you asleep so early, anyway?" She kept poking him, standing up and kneeling on the bed to reach both his sides.

"I'm just tired." He answered, sleepily. "And you shouldn't be here in the first place." He moved slightly, knocking her knee off and making her accidentally fall down on him, sitting on his butt, making him groan again.

Pretty comfortable where she was, she put her legs on his sides, still sitting down, hoping she was crushing him enough to keep him awake.

"Since you're up there, would you mind giving me a massage?" He grinned, never opening his eyes.

"Only if you talk to me." She answered. "This is very serious." She started running her fingers over his back, realizing immediately how sore he might be feeling. "You got a lot of knots." She said.

"Mmmph. Yeah… I fought Skulker after you left the park today." He said, trying to make her feel regretful.

"Anyway," She interrupted him, moving her fingers skillfully over his back. "I went home and had the most surreal experience in my life... and remember that we fight ghosts."

"That might have been quite an experience." He chuckled.

Sam stopped massaging him back, to show him it was no time for jokes. She felt him tense and finally was satisfied that he seemed to be taking her seriously.

"There were two men in my house, talking to my parents." She said, staring at his back. She noticed that he opened his eyes. "Father and son. They were the same from earlier." She explained. "I understood why they were there." She sniffed, finally realizing how much the situation had stressed her out.

Danny moved under her, trying to flip over. Sam climbed out from him and sat on the bed, while he sat up to pay attention to what she was saying. He had a frown on his face.

"That serious?" He asked, seeing that her eyes were filling up with tears.

"Yes." She nodded. "That boy, Kyle… my parents promised me to him. I'm supposed to marry him when I turn eighteen." She sobbed.

"But you said you don't want to, right?" Danny asked, worriedly.

"I said that and ran away." She said, hiding her face in her hands.

"Do you think they'd force you?" Danny asked, worriedly. He put a hand on her back trying to calm her down.

"They will insist, but I don't think they'd force me." She sniffed. "They know what I can do to get that Mr. Rich off by back."

"Yeah… I remember a similar situation with a certain prince Aragon…" He chuckled. "So, what's the problem, then?" He asked.

"Kyle is the problem. He said he's staying for a while!" She looked at him desperately.

"Do you think he'll try to do something to you? Like stalk?" Danny asked.

"I don't know, I just met him." She sighed in frustration. "He's asking me out."

"He's the type who can't take a hint?" Danny half laughed at the clueless guy.

"He took the hint, but he's insistent." She replied, annoyed.

"Well, you'll have to hang with me and Tucker all the time, then." Danny said. "If he comes close to you he won't be able to talk to you in private or anything."

"So, you're going to help me?" She smiled slightly.

"Sure, that's what friends are for." He hugged her, trying to cheer her up. "Now. Miss Manson, about this afternoon when you pulled me into the lake…"

Sam laughed, already knowing what was to come.

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Sam was once more sitting in a classroom, this time being the victim of the Math teacher. She was bored and worried. Danny tried to cheer her up by passing her funny notes, but she never answered them, just smiling back at him.

When there were ten minutes left for the last period to end, someone knocked on the door, interrupting the class. The teacher opened the door and everybody was stunned by the secretary walking inside the classroom with a huge bouquet of red roses.

"Samantha Manson?" She called out with a smile.

Sam blushed so hard she felt like passing out. She hit her forehead on the desk to hide her face. The class erupted in giggles and admiring glances. The teacher pointed at the girl and the secretary put the flowers on her desk.

"Congratulations dear, he's very handsome." She grinned before walking away.

"Aren't you going to read the card, Sam?" Valerie asked from across the room and all the students agreed (except for Danny, who already knew from who it was) shouting in choir for her to read it. Even the teacher was smiling at the girl's embarrassment.

Sam took the card and read it. She was going to pocket it, blushing madly when Paulina, shaking with jealously took it from her hand and decided to read it out loud.

"To my dearest soon-to-be wife. Love, Kyle Miles." Paulina looked up to Sam, as did the whole class. "Kyle Miles? The young businessman? The one who was the cover of the People Magazine last week?"

"Thank you for shouting it to the world." Sam groaned, sarcastically, snatching the card back.

The class was in silence, not believing what they had just heard. Samantha Manson, the loser of the school, the Goth girl nobody paid attention to, was going to be the wife of the richest and youngest businessman in the world.

The bell rang and Sam stood up quickly, running away from the classroom before anyone could say a word. She didn't even stop by her locker, she ran out of the school. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw a black limousine parked on the other side of the street and a young man leaning against it.

'Shit!' She thought. She looked around quickly, trying to run away before he saw her, but she didn't have the time, Kyle spotted her and grinned, walking in her direction. She tried to walk back into school, pretending she forgot something, but he cornered her against the wall, putting his arms on her sides, so that she wouldn't escape.

"Did you like the flowers?" He asked sweetly.

"You shouldn't have done that." She said, trying to show him he didn't have her under his control just because of some flowers. "It was really embarrassing." She said, trying to move away from him, when his grin disappeared.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you." He said quietly.

"But you did." She replied.

"Can I take you to dinner tonight as an apology?" He tried.

"No, she can't." Danny showed up, far behind him, Tucker stood watching the scene, holding Sam's bouquet.

"And who are you?" Kyle let go of Sam, not intending to be impolite to anybody. The boy standing before him looked just like a small teenager who was friends with his fiancée.

"I'm Danny Fenton, Sam's boyfriend."

New Fanfic! Yay! Now I'm waiting for the reviews!